APRIL 2018 | 3
News
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
NO EXCUSES – FIRE SAFETY NOW MUST
BE CONSTRUCTION’S HIGHEST PRIORITY
Last summer, after
decades on the side-lines,
fire safety was finally cen-
tre-stage – for the worst
possible reasons.
Grenfell was a national
catastrophe – one of those
traumatic moments that
scar a generation, and en-
sures that, for better or for
worse, things will never be
the same again.
It’s a tragedy that it
took a disaster on that
horrifying scale to make
us sit up and take notice.
But we’re now faced with
a once-in-a-generation
chance to drastically im-
prove fire safety standards
throughout construction
– and in our own sector,
glass and glazing, we can
start with the most basic
fire safety product of them
all: fire doors.
It’s an undeniable fact
– fenestration’s attitude
towards fire doors has been
shockingly poor in many
cases.
It’s frighteningly com-
mon for manufacturers to
fire test their door com-
ponents separately, rather
than testing the completely
assembled door set. That
can lead to products with
FD30 ratings that only
last a fraction of the time
they’re supposed to. At
West Port, we’ve come
across manufacturers of-
fering FD30 fire doors that
fail in under 15 minutes,
which is simply unaccept-
able.
It’s vital that this changes.
As businesses, we need to
put aside any thoughts of
profit, margins, and getting
the edge on the competi-
tion – this is about people’s
lives.
Architects, local author-
ities, house-builders and
others must demand better
from their contractors. And
product manufacturers and
installers have to enshrine
health and safety as their
highest priority.
Every door component
must be tested as part of a
complete door set. And the
30 minutes in FD30 must
be a bare minimum, not a
target. In a fire, seconds
count – and that means
every manufacturer has
a moral responsibility to
make their fire door prod-
ucts as good as they can
possibly be.
Subjected to rigorous
testing by both Cambridge
Fire Research and BRE, our
own FD30 fire door man-
aged to withstand tempera-
tures more than 800 degrees
Celsius for 42 minutes 7
seconds, or 40% longer.
We’re also now able to offer
an FD60 door.
We want to encourage
other manufacturers to
follow suit – to dedicate
themselves to producing fire
safety products that offer
the most outstanding fire
safety performance, and
give people the best possi-
ble chance of escaping fires
unharmed.
That will take hard work
and investment. But togeth-
er, as an industry, we can
help make the built environ-
ment a safer place.
www.west-port.co.uk
PerryShield fire door ironmongery combines fire safety and cost compliance
As legislation continues to
tighten in the wake of recent fire
catastrophes, A Perry & Co is
launching its new CE Marked and
CERTIFIRE Approved PerryShield
range of fire door ironmongery.
The complete, integrated, fire
rated range of door hinges, locks
and latches, and intumescent pro-
tection kits has been designed at a
price point that enables specifiers
to fit fire approved ironmongery
onto applications without having
to worry about spiralling costs.
The high-quality fire-resistant
door hardware and intumescent
kits are designed to ensure there
is no compromise to fire door in-
tegrity in an emergency, providing
a fire rating of either 30, 60 or 120
minutes.
Fire Door Hinges
The hinges, which come in 10
different finishes ranging from
antique brass to nickel plated,
are suitable for any application
whether light domestic or heavy
commercial use. They fit all door
furniture meaning that only the
existing hinges will have to be
replaced. For doors weighing up
to 40kg, The Grade 7 CE marked
and CERTIFIRE approved hinges
are most suitable, and Grade 13
are suitable for doors weighing up
to 120kg.
Fire Rated Locks
and Latches
An integral part of the new
PerryShield range are the premi-
um tubular mortice latches that
are essential to help prevent the
spread of fire by ensuring the
door remains closed in its frame.
The latches are fire rated and
CERTIFIRE Approved for
up to 30 minutes. The
3 lever Sashlocks and 3
lever deadlocks are fire
rated and CERTIFIRE
Approved for up to 60
minutes.
Intumescent
Protection Kits
The PerryShield Intumescent
Kits are made from a sheet of an
ultra-thin and flexible high perfor-
mance intumescent material. The
0.8mm sheet contains intercalated
graphite providing up to 60 minutes
of fire protection and offers prom-
inent levels of expansion and insu-
lation. This prevents heat transfer
when fitted on ironmongery and re-
bated into timber door sets. Each kit
is pre-cut to the right dimensions,
for quick, clean and easy fitting,
matching accurately the hinge, latch
or lock it is designed for.
All intumescent products are
immune to moisture, humidity,
atmosphe ric pollution or common
industrial and household chemi-
cal substances. The kits have also
been extensively tested to the
latest British/European Standards
BS.476 Part 22: 1987 30/60 min
rated & BS EN 1634-1:2014 30/60
min.
In some cases, if the kits are
used in multiple layers, they can
provide protection up to 240 min-
utes to fire doors.
www.perrytrade.co.uk